1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a point-of-purchase display with a fresnel lens magnifier for promoting products and providing information.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is common practice, especially in retail establishments, to display advertising material in high traffic flow locations for the purpose of catching the eye of the customer. An area of high traffic flow in any retail location is in the aisles between the display shelves.
Various point-of-purchase displays have been developed for attachment to the top or bottom of display shelves or to a price channel at the front of the shelf. Some point-of-purchase displays are static, dispense a coupon, wiggle or have flashing lights. Once the customer has seen a point-of-purchase display several times, he or she may walk by it without actually "seeing" so there is always a need for something different to catch the customer's attention. Another way to sustain interest in the advertisement would be if the point-of-purchase display provided a benefit to the customer, other than dispensing a coupon. It is to this marketing opportunity that the present invention is addressed.
Some non-prescription drugs, nutriceuticals, food supplements, and the like are sold in small containers. The label on these containers of necessity is small and the label is difficult to read, particularly for persons approaching or passed middle age. Presbyopia is a form of farsightedness which nearly universally affects the ability of a forty-plus person to see fine print clearly, caused by a diminished elasticity of the crystalline lens. While such persons may have eyeglasses for reading, often times they do not carry their glasses with them and even those middle aged persons who must wear glasses all the time may have difficulty reading fine print. This age group, however, purchases many (or possibly most) non-prescription drugs, nutriceuticals, food supplements and so forth.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,477 to Nyman proposes the attachment of an open-bottomed box with a glass magnifying lens in its top wall to a store shelf for use in magnifying the print on a small package. The field of view in Nyman's device is small because large glass lenses are expensive and the image is distorted, unlike a fresnel lens. The lighting on the product is also reduced as the sidewalls of the box block the light. In addition, the device is dangerous as a customer might be hurt by pieces of glass if he or she falls against the device and breaks the lens.
Inexpensive, plastic fresnel lenses, which are more convenient to carry than glass lenses, may be used to magnify the print on a small container. The AARP, for example, has given such devices to their members. Like eyeglasses, however, the customer may forget to bring a lens with him or her or the lens may become damaged when it is carried in a pocket or purse. Another important factor is vanity.
A point-of-purchase display with a large fresnel lens for magnifying the fine print on small packages of drugs, nutriceuticals, food supplements, etc. would be a benefit to the customer, if provided at the point where the need arises. The display would include a place for signage with information about the product and the magnifying device would allow the customer to read the fine print on the label, without drawing attention to him- or herself. On subsequent visits, the point-of-purchase display would continue to be of interest because the display provides a benefit to the consumer. While the customer might use the device to read the label on another or even a competing product, he or she cannot totally avoid being influenced by the sponsor's advertising message.